User:Misteraznkid/San Mateo High School

San Mateo High School is a public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District. The school was recognized as one of the 260 National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence recognized by the United States Department of Education.

History
In 1991, it was honored as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. In 2005, the California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) organization bestowed a "Gold Standard Award for Academic Excellence" upon San Mateo High School.

The school's traditional arch-rival is Burlingame High School.

The school earned a Guinness World Record in 2005 for collecting 372,000 pounds (168,736 kg) of food from the local community for its canned food drive. The collected food was provided to America's Second Harvest and Samaritan House.

As of 2007, San Mateo High School has been nominated by Newsweek as one of the top 1,300 American public high schools in the nation, ranking currently at position 187, placing itself as the highest ranked public high school in all of the San Mateo Union High School District.

Campus


San Mateo High School opened to its first 27 students in 1902 at a cottage on Ellsworth Street in San Mateo. The school moved twice in 1903 and to Baldwin Avenue in 1911 before moving to its present location in 1927. The original brick-dominated complex was sometimes referred to as "the high school that looks like a university."

In 2001, the school undertook to demolish and entirely replace the original building in an effort to meet modern earthquake safety requirements. Dedicated in August 2005, the new building strongly echoes the design and materials of the original in part due to strong public outcry about the decision to demolish the structure. On February 10, 2006 the campus Quad was dedicated to alumnus Merv Griffin, who donated US$250,000 to the school (US$125,000 of which was intended for the performing arts department).

2007-2008

 * 1,502 students:
 * 79 certified staff:

SMHS Dance Team
San Mateo high is also known for their hip-hop jerking dance team, focusing on choreography-based tactics. They enter annual competitions and perform in show cases, using original, self- made up choreography. The team performs in many occasions such as school assemblies, halftime shows, and lunch rallies. The SMHS dance team is composed of hip hop dancers, two dance captains and a dance adviser.

Marching Band
During the 2007–2008 year, the Marching Band placed 1st at 4 of 5 competitions.

Marches:


 * 1939: Gone with the Wind
 * 2007: Arromanches
 * 2008: Per Aspera Ad Astra
 * 2009: Farewell to a Slavic Woman.

Theater
San Mateo's theater program puts on three shows every year — two musicals and one play. These shows are performed in the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, or PAC. The school's performance of Rent has won itself recognition from NPR.

Recently, these shows have included:


 * The Kite Runner (2009),
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009),
 * Rent (High School Edition) (2008),
 * The Philadelphia Story (2008),
 * West Side Story (2008),
 * Little Shop of Horrors (2007),
 * To Kill A Mockingbird (2007),
 * Thoroughly Modern Millie (2007),
 * Bat Boy (2006),
 * Hello Dolly! (2006),
 * Into the Woods (2006).

The 2009–2010 season includes Leader of the Pack, 42nd Street, and Neil Simon play Brighton Beach Memoirs.

Newspaper
The San Mateo Hi is San Mateo High School's school print publication. It is one of the longest running student journalism programs on the west coast and prints 16 broadsheet pages once every four weeks. In its 2008–2009 run, the paper won numerous accolades at the Peninsula Press Club High School Newspaper Competition.

Quiz Kids
The San Mateo Quiz Kids team has qualified for the NAQT championships in Chicago for 3 years running, and in 2008 won the bay area Quizbowl contest, and won a trip to London as an award.

Notable alumni

 * Walter Afanasieff. Grammy winning music composer and producer.
 * Barry Bostwick, 1964. Actor and singer, notably in Spin City.
 * Ted Dabney, 1955. Co-founder of Atari.
 * Fred Dutton, 1941. Democratic Party political advisor, originator of the idea for Earth Day.
 * Phil Goldman, 1982. WebTV founder.
 * Merv Griffin, 1942. Entertainment producer and former talk show host.
 * Dennis Haysbert, 1972. Actor of film and television best known for 24.
 * Kris Kristofferson. American writer, singer-songwriter, actor, and musician.
 * Lee Mendelson. Five-time Emmy winning producer of Peanuts.
 * Arron Oberholser. Professional golfer
 * James Swett, (1939), U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot; awarded Medal of Honor, 1943
 * Peter Thiel, 1985. Co-founder PayPal.
 * Debi Thomas. Bronze medalist in figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
 * Cal Tjader, 1943. Latin Jazz musician.
 * Alicia Silverstone Actress, most notably in Clueless
 * Eric Dane, 1991. Actor, notably in Grey's Anatomy
 * Greg Steele, Co-founder of rock band, "Faster Pussycat".
 * Bill Neukom, 1959. Managing General Partner of the San Francisco Giants.